The three main alternatives to litigation are arbitration, expert adjudication and mediation. All methods of dispute resolution other than litigation and arbitration are commonly referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Arbitration is a method of resolving disputes. All of the parties to a dispute must consent to arbitration before it can be used.
Any dispute or claim concerning legal rights, which can be the subject of an enforceable award, is capable of being settled by arbitration.
This means that arbitration can be used for resolving personal injures actions as well as commercial disputes.
There are a number of advantages to arbitration.
Arbitration proceedings are held in private unless there is an issue in the proceedings which becomes the subject of a reference to the courts.
The rules of the Commercial Court are designed to encourage parties to agree various issues between them before the matter goes to trial so that the hearing will concentrate exclusively on the issues that remain in dispute between the parties. The Commercial Court also hears cases involving infringement of intellectual property rights and passing off claims.
It is possible to have cases resolved in a relatively short timeframe.
The court may also direct that parties’ experts meet in conference to discuss any issues relevant to the case. In arbitration the parties can choose the person whom they wish to act as arbitrator. An arbitrator who has a particular brand of knowledge or experience suited to the issue at hand can be appointed.
The procedure used in arbitration is flexible .The parties, if they are in agreement can pick the procedure that they believe is best suited to the resolution of the dispute.
The parties have some degree of control over the costs of the arbitration proceedings. The costs of arbitration will include the costs of the arbitrator.
The parties also have a reasonable degree of control over the speed at which the arbitration will be conducted and the timeframe within which they can have a ruling on their dispute.
